Drying japanned or varnished leather.



A. GENTHE.

DRYING JAPANNED 0B VARNISHED LEATHER.

APPLICATION FILED 00121, 1913'.

1,095,498, Patented May 5, 1914- gnozntoz I A416 attozucq UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED GENTHE, OF VTORMS, GERMANY, ASSIGNOR TO THE FIRM OF CORNELIUS a HEYL, OF WORMS, GERMANY.

DRYING JAPANNEI) 0R VARNISIIED LEATHER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

' Application filed October 1, 1913.

Patented May 5, 1914.

Serial No. 792,809.

vented -new and useful Improvements in- Drying J apanned or Varnished Leather, of which the following is a specification.

The operation of drying japanned or varnished leather is generally completed by exposing the goods to sunlight. Lately, radiation from mercury vapor lamps, which are rich in ultra-violet rays, has been substituted for sunlight for this purpose, especially quartz lamps are used. The radiation from these lamps, however, does not achieve the object without further precaution, because the ozone produced by this kind of light acts injuriously on the varnished surface. On this account it has been proposed to remove the ozone from the chamber with aid of suitable ventilation. It appears, however, that the ventilation is effective only under certain conditions.

I have found that the injurious action of the ozone requires a considerable content of moisture in the atmosphere and that the method of illumination accompanied by ventilationwhich is described in German patent specification No. 253309 fails on moist summer days.

By my invention this objection is avoided by removing as far as possible the a ueous vapor from the air used for venti ating the chamber; for instance, the air may be suitably chilled for the purpose. The quantity of air supplied or unit time for ventilation can be muc smaller than in the known process, for it serves merely for maintaining a low percentage of aqueous vapor in the chamber, whereby the injurious action of the ozone is inhibited.

I find that, in order to operate well, and to prevent the generation of ozone, the airy in the chamber where the varnished articles are treated, should not contain more than seven grams of moisture per cubic meter.

In the drawings I have shown diagrammatically an apparatus in which my proc ess may be carrried out.

In this drawing A represents a chamber for drying or removing the moisture from the air furnished for example by a blower 13 before introducing it into the chamber C wherein the varnished or japanned leather is subjected to the action of the light of short wave-lengths, for the purpose of solidifying the coating thereon.

Now what I claim and desire to be secured by Letters Patent is the following:

1.-In the process of drying japanned or varnished leather by exposing same to lightrich in rays of short wave lengths, the step whichoonsists in removing substantially all the moisture from the air in which the exposure occurs and maintaining it substantially free from such moisture.

2.. The process of drying japanned or.

varnished leather, which consists'in exposing the same to light rich in ultra-violet rays in ashifting atmosphere, and drying said atmosphere and maintaining it substantially free from moisture.

3. The process of drying japanned or varnished leather which consists in drying air and passingit through a-chamber, and exposing the said leather to light rich in ultraviolet rays in said chamber, the air being maintained substantially free from moisture.

4. The process of drying japanned or varnished leather, which consists in drying air and passing it through a chamber, and exposing the said leather to light rich in rays of short wave-lengths in said chamber, the air being maintained substantially freefrom moisture.

5. The process which consists in drying ventilating air and passing it over j apanne or varnished leather and concurrently ex-' posing the leather to light rich in rays of short wave-len hs.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I' have signed my name in presence of two witnesses, this twentieth day of September, 1913.

ALFRED GENTHE.

Witnesses LUDWIG PLATI, LUDWIG LA SEN. 

